A Voegelinian Interpretation of Saint Francis
Copyright 2010 Nicoletta Stradaioli
In the second volume of
the History of Political Ideas, The Middle Ages to Aquinas Voegelin
examines the figure of Saint Francis of
The great movement of ideas
during the XII century was a religious one with a twofold characteristic: it was
popular and secular. Its source was in the social community and aimed, with
indecision and hesitation, at stealing the sacred things from the hands of the
clergy.[3]
From this perspective, a fracture between the ecclesiastical institution and evangelical
Christianity dominated the public scene and expressed itself in the will to
strengthen the church by restoring the primitive spiritual existence. The core
of the religious reform was the monastic world which aimed at reaffirming
discipline and purity in the clergy. This movement to renew the church risked
disintegrating the clerical state and the medieval political order as well. As
a matter of fact, the religious institution did not succeed in absorbing
completely the transformation taking place in society. If the attempt to
disrupt the religious world had been successful, it would have changed the
government of the church once and for
all.
Voegelin
examines the narrow limit that separates reform from revolution, taking into
consideration «the reforms that originated in the orders and the reforms that
originated in the movements proper. The first type originated socially in the
feudal and rural society; the second type originated in the town society. The
two lines overlapped and finally merged in the thirteenth century».[4]
In this sense, it is especially enlightening that the history of the Franciscan
order which, from its beginning to the first years of the XVI century, is
characterized by a complex texture of intellectual creativity, human suffering and
conflicts which reveal a winding road running parallel to the path undertaken
by the Western Christianity. Thus, the history of the Franciscan Order is a
paradigm with which to interpret the crisis of the Western world. In this
context, according to Voegelin, some religious figures take on a decisive role,
since they represent the spirit of the new age. Among them Saint Francis, the Saint
of the Middle ages par excellence and
the one who incarnates the Italian spirit of the XIII century, stands out.[5]
For
the author, Francis of Assisi is «the decisive figure inaugurating a new epoch
of Christian history».[6] Voegelin recognizes the purity of
the Franciscan religious experience, «his convincing sincerity, his exemplary
personal realization of the ideals he taught, his charm, his humility and his
unwordly näivité»,[7] but he also observes that the Umbrian saint
indirectly realizes in history the prophecies of Joachim of Fiore (c. 1135-1202).
The advent of Francis of Assisi integrates the millenarian preaching of the
Calabrian friar: «[Saint Francis] tried to carry out what Joachim of Fiore had
projected: to establish a new order of the spirit in the world».[8] The paradigm of perfection
elaborated by the Saint and the miracle of the stigmata convinced the
contemporaries that Saint Francis was the alter
Christus. Therefore, the Umbrian saint seemed to carry out the Joachite
prophecy and the Franciscan Order seemed to represent the prefect Order
predicted by the abbot of Fiore. «The appearance of Saint Francis has seemed to
fulfil [Joachim’s] prediction of the dux
of the new age»,[9] translating in history the
charismatic personality who would have inaugurated the Third Age.
Emphasizing
the historical, social and spiritual role of Saint Francis, Voegelin shows that
the Umbrian friar was an exceptional figure in the history of the church and
the exponent of a type of religiosity that was, on the one hand, authentic and
on the other dangerous, because it poured into the public scene intramundane
forces. Voegelin does not deny the personal and genuine religious inspiration
of the spiritual experience of Saint Francis. Undeniably, the deep intimacy of
his devotion, his passionate and innocent faith, the richness of his
spirituality suggests to Voegelin that the
Franciscan ideal is extraordinary. As a matter of fact, this type of
religiousness distinguishes «Saint Francis from
other sectarian leaders, and made him a saint instead of a heresiarch».[10]
Moreover, his submission to the church
demonstrates the purity of Franciscan spirituality. Between 1209-1210, Francis
of Assisi asked Innocent III (1198-1216) to consent to his Order and his Rule. The pope granted it orally. The
official legitimation was granted by pope Honorius III (1216-1227) and this recognition was
vital for the survival of the church itself: «if
we consider the appeal of Saint Francis, the rapid spread of the order, and
particularly the mass influx into the Tertiary Order, it is hardly imaginable
what forms the social revolution would have taken if the church had not
absorbed the movement through the person of Saint Francis and integrated it
into its organization […]».[11]
Through
complete submission to the church Saint Francis was able to play an important
role in the ecclesiastical institution. He becomes the spokesman of a spiritual
(and political) ideal, more noble than the one of the clergy of his time which,
in fact, was involved in the political
ups and downs of temporal power, attracted by mundane prosperity instead of
preaching to the people, converting and consoling them. The seraphic Father
decides to fight the plagues of the church acting as the “herald of the holy
Gospel”, following the evangelical perfection of Christ. In the first Rule of the Franciscan Order, which
outlined the basic principles of Franciscan life, the Umbrian friar stressed
the crucial importance of practicing and preaching the precepts of Jesus. The
heart of the Franciscan religio and
of the Franciscan mysticism is the effort to live in conformity with the life
of Christ. This individual mission, which through the apostolate becomes even a
social duty, implies imitation of the virtues of the Saviour and foremost the
practice of poverty. The practice of
poverty was not a new idea in the history of the church but the Franciscan
recovery of apostolic poverty was an extraordinary social message of moral
revolution that touched many consciences.
Voegelin
interprets the Christocentrism and the pauperism of Saint Francis as the
symbols of a religious faith that can degenerate into an immanent doctrine. Therefore,
if on the one hand Francis of Assisi shows the way for a new religiousness,
different from the one embraced by other monastic orders, on the other hand the
Umbrian saint introduces three fundamental ideas in the Christian model he
lives: the conformance with Christ, the life of poverty, the
Ecclesia of the Laymen, which
constitute «the irruption of intramundane forces»,[12]
jeopardizing the political symbolic equilibrium of the sacrum imperium. In particular, «the idea of life in conformance
with Christ as a style of existence»,[13] exalts the suffering Christ of the
cross and so «Christ the King in his glory»[14] becomes less important. If Saint Francis with
the miracle of the stigmata reaches perfect conformity with the life of Christ,
it is also true that no other human being «can conform his life to the Messiah».[15] As a result, the image of the Son of God is
adapted to the human possibilities creating an intramundane Christ which, in
the Franciscan ideal, is the Christ of the poor and of the humble. «The
function of Christ as the priestly-royal hierarch had to be neglected; the
Christ of Saint Francis is an innerwordly Christ of the poor; he is no longer
the head of the whole corpus mysticum
of mankind».[16]
Christ is no more the guide of the «differentiated body of Christianity»,[17] but the symbol of specific social forces which
claim a privileged relationship with God. In the Voegelinian interpretation, the
force of the Franciscan faith is grounded in the closeness of Saint Francis to
the people and Saint Francis emerges as he who indirectly supports the demands
of the needy persons. In this way his religious message has also a political
and economic meaning: the Franciscan paupertas dictates specific economic and
political behaviour which can be codified in juridical terms. In this way, the
religious and existential preaching of Francis enters everyday life and implies
a reform of political life. Although he asserts complete obedience to the
ecclesiastical institution, his doctrine has a revolutionary content which leads
to a conflict with the authority of the church.
Thus,
for Voegelin, the Franciscan religio
has potentially risky contents: the imitation of Christ and the abnegation of
all property, interpreted in a fundamentalist way, can be the means «of social
and political transfiguration».[18] Moreover, this system of beliefs can be
explosive if fused with Joachim’s doctrine which, in fact, exerts a strong
influence on the Franciscan Order, corrupting the spirituality of the Umbrian
friar.
Before
examining the elements of Franciscanism in which the eschatological tensions and
the Joachite influence are evident, it is fundamental to emphasize that Saint
Francis was adverse to any kind of eschatology. His spirituality was always directed
to the transcendental God and, even if some legends attribute to him the
visions of a future terrestrial perfect realm and of a time to come filled with
tests and errors for the Franciscan Order, he never really conceived a
religious-political collective solution to end the unjust and decadent present
world. If Joachim of Fiore had announced the imminent coming of the Third Age
of the Holy Spirit, Saint Francis, with realism, committed himself and his
friars to the practice of the apostolic life. The “poor life” of the Minors is
a type of existence that did not intend to denounce a world in ruin nor state
an apocalyptic palingenesis. The Franciscan asceticism speaks with sympathy to
the common Christian men who live an ordinary life. The true religion is the apostolic
one of the Spirit which speaks to the heart of all men to reawaken the divine
presence in their conscience. Thus, Francis does not construct a theological
theory to build a charismatic spiritual society for initiates. As a matter of
fact, in the Saint’s works there is no evidence of apocalyptic expectations.
The Gospel which regulates the life of the friars is not a bizarre and
futuristic “eternal revolutionary gospel” but the canonical, ancient and
traditional one. The seraphic Father does not describe Christ as the Judge of
the Apocalypse. He contemplates the Saviour conceived by Holy Mary and who died
on the cross. St. Francis’ spirituality is far from preaching any kind of millenarian prophetism and it does not describe any visionary
state. He does not intent to subvert the hierarchical ecclesiastical
government. On the contrary, his Fraternitas
fits completely into the ecclesiastical institution and it cooperates with
the church, acknowledging the authority of the clergy. Furthermore, it is
well-known that the Umbrian friar thoroughly refused any theological
controversy, giving preference to a practical life lived as a shining example
of virtue instead of a science cultivated for terrestrial fame. The joyful
spirituality of St. Francis of
Though,
the teaching of Francis did not urge his brothers to become prophets or
apocalyptic preachers, Joachim’s doctrine plays a significant role in the
Order, in particular in the radical wings of the Franciscans. From the time of
the death of St. Francis (1226) many conflicts rose within the Order,
culminating in the split between Spirituals and Conventuals (the so called
friars of the “community”). The wing of the Spirituals favoured the scrupulous
observance of the practice of poverty and mendacity, with a return to the
pauperism of the first companions of St.
Francis. The Conventuals preferred a practical accommodation of the practice of
poverty and were generally supported in this by the papacy. At the end of the
XIII century, there were numerous and intense conflicts between the fluid world
of the Spiritual and the friars of the Community. Two worlds faced each other,
through words and violent actions. At stake was the memory of St Francis and
the rule of the first fraternity which became the paradigm for the authentic
practice of poverty. The Spirituals thought they represented the original Rule and Testament of Francis; they defended the purity of the Franciscan
origin and apostolic poverty became the mark of their identification as the
real “spiritual men” who were to run the Christian church.
The weighty inheritance received from the seraphic
Father was hard to manage and the numerous quarrels inside the Order forced
deep reflection regarding the theory of poverty, on the one hand, and the role
of the Franciscans inside the church, on the other hand. In particular, the
pope was asked to intervene various times to resolve the conflict inside the
Minor Order but the papal involvement in the conflict provoked an excessive
interference in the matters of the Order itself. In fact, the papacy assumed a leading
role in defining the authenticity of the Franciscan doctrine, the genuine core
of the Franciscan rule, establishing the compatibility between Franciscanism
and the theological and ecclesiological tradition.[19]
The opposition between the Spirituals and the Conventuals almost disintegrated
the Order and, above all, produced a salient chapter in the history of
eschatological expectation. This story can be seen through the life and the
works of some of the most prominent Spiritual leaders, Peter Olivi (c.1248-1298),
Angelo of Clareno (c.1245-1337), Ubertino of Casale (c.1259-1330). In the
Spiritual wing it is evident the Joachite influence and the eschatological
tension towards a future renovation of the spirituality able to realize a new
perfect State. In synthesis, the analysis principally takes into consideration
the figure of Peter Olivi, who is the most notable spiritual leader, an acute
thinker who reflects, in his active but prudent participation in the events of
his age, the drama of the Franciscan Order.
The idea of the church
that the Provençal Franciscan elaborates is fundamental to understand the
ecclesiological doctrine of the friar. It refers to Joachim of Fiore’s theory
of history without abandoning Christian orthodoxy. He develops a history of the
church, in which the ecclesiastical institution goes through seven ages, the
last one representing a peaceful and perfected future status. Moreover, Olivi’s
history of the church is characterized by a «theology of pain».[20] The seven periods are constituted by
a mixture of good and evil, but especially at the end of the fifth age and at the
beginning of the sixth there is an aggressive presence of sin, vice and
iniquity. During the fifth period the church builds monasteries and wages war
against the infidels. However it experiences a time of external peace. Despite
this, a dangerous internal enemy threatens the church: the laxity of morals.
If, on the one hand, the Provençal Franciscan believes in the Roman church and
is faithful to the hierarchy of the ecclesiastical institution, on the other
hand he condemns the clergy for its mundane behaviour and for forgetting the
meaning of poverty, humility and charity.
According to Olivi, St.
Francis brought back to the world the evangelical perfection, formulating a Rule rooted in the Gospel. In fact, in
the sixth period the church experiences the Franciscan evangelical renewal
which is at the basis of the new church to come. The sixth age, which in
Olivi’s doctrine plays a prominent part, represents the first step towards the
realization of ecclesiastical
perfection, the glorification of Christ (sollempnizatio),
even if evil is not completely defeated. The seventh age sees interior peace
and spiritual understanding; the completion
ecclesiae is achieved.
It is fundamental in the
doctrine of the Spiritual friar the distinction, already described by Joachim,
between the ecclesia carnalis, the
Although Olivi takes
inspiration from Joachim’s doctrine he does not fix with certainty the beginning
of the new age of the church. On the contrary, he describes a state of
perennial waiting which tends towards the fulfilment of the spiritual church.
Thus, the age to come is neither today nor tomorrow but is part of the
Christian eschatological view of history. Spiritual renewal is essentially a
resurgence: the recovery of the evangelical perfection of the primitive church.
The renaissance of the ecclesiastical institution consists of living according
to the Gospel, it is not a radical overthrowing of the existing religious
community nor a revolution that will sweep away all obstacles to the imminent
perfect spiritual state. Central to Olivi’s thought is the inner conversion of
the hearts and minds of the men who govern the church. In this way, the
eschatological figure of St Francis is incorporated in the historical course of
the church itself and the renewal of the church is regulated by the papacy. Thus,
the clerical state will gradually experience and put into practice a crescendo
of virtue.[22]
Olivi cites and refers
to Joachim’s works. However, he does not agree unconditionally with his
thought. Olivi’s Joachimism has to be reassessed. In fact, the history of the
church of the Provençal friar is based on a Christological vision of history
instead of a Trinitarian one.[23]
The core of Olivi’s speculation is Christ himself. Past events and past
experiences as a whole refer to Christ who supports and judges them according
to the providential plan.[24]
Moreover, characteristic of the Franciscan spiritual is his emphasis on the
role of St. Francis as the initiator of the period of renewal. On this point,
another distinction between the Calabrian abbot and the Provençal friar
emerges. If for Joachim the third epoch of the Trinitarian vision of history is
an order of monks (the elected and charismatic ones) for Olivi, in the new
final epoch, St. Francis, the alter
Christus, converts and gathers together all believers regardless of their
conditions or social positions. However, the true believers are distinguished from
the wicked, for whom the words of the Angel of the Sixth Seal (Saint Francis) have
no significance. From this perspective, the interpretation of Peter Olivi
emphasizes the division between the ecclesia
carnalis and the ecclesia spiritualis
once more.[25] Nevertheless,
the historical plan of the Franciscan spiritual Christological theology implies
a concretization of reality. The symbol of the Third Age is part of the history
of the church: it is not a theophanic unique manifestation of a Person of the
Holy Trinity but a phase of the providential plan in which things that already
happened can take place again according to a dialectical process characterized
by the contrast between the exemplarity of Christ and the weakness of human
beings.[26]
The realism and capacity
to plunge into history represent the innovative elements of Olivi’s speculation
and they constitute a significant aspect in the transformation of Joachim’s
doctrine. As a matter of fact, the new age, which for the abbot was static in
its perfection, is for the Spiritual friar open to a possible dynamic evolution
that, thanks to its ability to adjust itself, is inclined to be moulded by historical
events.[27]
Olivi’s apocalyptic understanding of reality is more balanced than appears: he wishes
to censure the fanatical and fervent Spirituals who compromise the religious
attitude of the “regular” ones.[28] A
superficial reading of Olivi’s Lectura
super Apocalipsim gives the impression that the Provençal Franciscan
follows the same logical pattern of Joachim of Fiore. Actually, deepening the
doctrinarian form of his theory, it is possible to grasp the innovative
elements of his thinking. He wants to explain the connection between events
which constitute the richness and variety of history. In this perspective,
Christian providence is more than the divine director who indicates his role to
each individual: it represents a rational dynamic force which unites the action
of every single man.[29]
Furthermore, Franciscanism is not only a system of religious ideas, but above
all an energy that concretely acts in history.
Peter Olivi is a
paradigmatic figure of Franciscanism who shows how complex and multifarious was
Joachim of Fiore’s thought. The influence of the Calabrian abbot’s ideas exercised
a strong effect in the Middle Ages and later, even if their content was
sometimes deeply transformed, the expectations about the “End” continued to persuade
a vast number of religious and humble persons, leading them against the
hierarchy of the church to support the ideal of an evangelical spirituality. The
dissatisfaction with the present and the religious excitement about the proximity
of a perfect kingdom on earth, where the real spiritual men will triumph,
dominate the consciousness of the age which is also proven
by the osmosis between the religious and the political world taking place
during the medieval age and during the Renaissance. As is known, the Voegelinian
studies penetrate the relationship between ancient, classic and modern
political ideas which have shaped the modern world and characterized the
totalitarianism of the XIX century. Without taking into consideration a
well-known segment of Voegelin’s speculation, it is significant to remember how
the author gave new life to the theme of renovatio
fundamental for understanding the birth of modernity. In particular, some topics
(such as “the new epoch”, “the advent of the Antichrist”, “the coming of the
Messiah”,…) display cultural, social, and political meanings: the apocalyptic
expectation is a way in which political and social events are given religious
validation and so the coming of the new age, in religious terms, is an agent of
political change. Referring to the studies of Burdach, Voegelin emphasizes some
essential topics and myths and the fusion between religious and political
attitudes without omitting – and this is vital – the historical context in
which they existed. Thus, Voegelin masters the mission of the historian and of
the political scientist: he does not separate the political ideas which he examines
from the specific historical situation and he does not lose sight of the various
and sometimes opposing functions of political ideas.
As a matter of fact, the
interpretation of St. Francis and of Franciscanism, in particular the
references to the Spiritual party, shows the religious and political functions
of a vision of the world that can take different forms: other-worldly or
inner-worldly, individual or collective, temporary or absolute. Actually, the
Joachite tradition provided a powerful paradigm for the critique of the church
of the time and for the later radical political phenomena. Joachim’s potent
myth of the structure of history and the coming of “spiritual men” was
extremely effective, on the one hand, for the Spirituals who believed in their
world-shattering role in history and, on the other hand, moved and influenced
other courses of action which wished to renew the socio-political reality. In
this perspective, St. Francis has a twofold quality: on the one hand his
personality represents the perennial human concern to understand history and
the special significance of the present and on the other hand his figure
represents a pure authentic religious experience which was strengthened by the
simplicity and spontaneity of his mysticism.
Francis’ mysticism
reveals the need for an authentic spiritual renewal which finds expression
either in an active or contemplative way of life. The Umbrian saint seems to
abandon an existence built on an exclusive intimate dialogue with God
preferring the apostolic life. However, the contemplative life plays a
significant role: Francis’ opening of his soul towards God is a collective and
individual union with the divine where spiritual access to the godly reality is
achieved through a kind of poetic and inspired prayer. The hymns and the
spiritual poetry of the friar derive from a mystical inspiration in which there
is a passionate surge of love for God who is the only subject of the verses.
The reaching for the divine of St. Francis is so spontaneous that the Saint
gets lost in God in solitude but he feels inadequate to praise and express
gratitude to God all by himself. Thus, he gathers around him other people to
participate in the mysterious transcendence of the Creator.
The Praises of Creatures is a singing symphonic poem which represents a
form of meditation that combines joy and sacrifice. These verses which
represent the first religious Italian poem reflect Saint Francis’ attitude
towards nature which is imagined as a mutual fraternal interconnection among all
the elements of the created world. The devotion to nature expressed in the poem
reveals, in an unconventional way, the bond between the human order and the
cosmic one and discloses a world which is a unique harmonic theophany of God. The
Canticle conveys a theophanic
mysticism of nature in which the presence of God becomes luminous, real and
experienced in the totality of the elements of the cosmos, each one
representing the plenitude of God.[30]
In this perspective, the mysticism of the Umbrian saint echoes, on the one hand,
Saint Augustine who, in The City of God,
expressed the possibility of experiencing God everywhere and in everything and,
on the other hand, Scotus Eriugena’s idea of the world as a theophany of God.
A mystic form of
knowledge which is more spontaneous and corporeal than the previous one is
evident in Saint Francis. The mystical line is founded on an active apostolate,
on nature interpreted as a step of elevation towards God and on the material
identification-imitation of Christ and His passion. Furthermore, the
combination of action and contemplation characterize Franciscan mysticism as
democratic and secular. The immediate awareness of the presence of God is
possible for all Christians and not only for the ecclesiastics. Moreover, the
ascetic life is no more a prerequisite to get in touch with God, the Creator
can be met in daily experience, too.[31]
The simplicity of the
mystical faith of the Umbrian saint suggests investigating the differences and the
affinities between Francis’ mysticism and Eckhart’s. Starting from the
theological and philosophical tensions between the Franciscans and the Dominicans
and taking into consideration «[the] struggle of the Franciscans against
Eckhart»,[32] it is interesting to penetrate the
religious relationship linking the two friars. [In the process of heresy
against the Dominican the Minors played an active part. This can convince that
the Franciscans were the zealous instigators of the charges against Eckhart. However,
even if between the two Orders at stake was the control of university education,
the preaching and the care of the souls, the suspicion of heresy against the
German theologian took place in his Order]. As a matter of fact, Eckhart
expresses a religious position open to all the varieties of the Christian
mysticism and, in particular, he cites San Bonaventure and speaks with respect
of Saint Francis. Certainly, this is not sufficient to define the Eckhartian
mysticism nor to characterize his spirituality as a deepening of the mystical
contents of the Franciscan theology. Eckhart’s spiritual position is more
complex and erudite than that of the Umbrian friar. It combines theology,
philosophy and metaphysics, shaping his mysticism into multiple (and sometimes
conflicting) forms. However, between the different mystical conceptions of the
two friars a common outline can be found.
First of all, Eckhart’s
spiritual thought is democratic. The German theologian, like Saint Francis, maintains
that God can be met everywhere and by everyone. In fact, the sermon is the
specific instrument of mystical teaching: the sermo mysticus is able to build a spontaneous community in which
mental and verbal words are intimately united, in a way similar to the lyric
poetry of Francis.
Secondly, Meister
Eckhart believes that the highest form of mystical union must be searched for
in the combination of action and contemplation. It is necessary to exercise a
contemplative action and an active contemplation to offer man what has been
learned from the Scriptures. For Eckhart, being and doing go hand in hand as
for Saint Francis. Eckhart emphasizes that the mystic experience lived in
solitude is egoistic. If, on the one hand, the human being has to experience a
form of union with God that does not exclude actions and works, on the other
hand these last must come from spiritual men, that is from a soul detached from
mundane things and so able to love God completely.
In this perspective, poverty
also plays a dominant role in Eckhart’s mysticism. But the Dominican friar
deepens its meaning. In order to join God, man must be totally detached, devoid
of everything, as he was before he was born. This means that divine plenitude
is experienced in the radical emptying
out of the soul, because only a naked, poor and free soul can reach God.
Poverty and detachment are the essential conditions for tending towards God. Thus,
for Eckhart these virtues are more valuable than humility, love and mercy, which,
for the German friar, reveal an egoistic inclination.[33]
In this sense, the total detachment from the world of creatures and the total
renunciation of property is more radical in Eckhart than in Saint Francis. However,
the detachment from the world does not imply a flight from material things nor a
separation from reality. Rather, one must learn to penetrate things and find
God there.
Man’s renunciation of
any will in order to become poor and empty and, therefore, full of God
distinguishes Eckhartian mysticism from the Franciscan love-centered one. For Franciscanism
the mystic union with God is so rooted in love that the intellect must
surrender to love itself, because it is the affectus
that enables the union with the Creator. In Eckhart this affective idiom is not
present. His sermons are devoid of this language of love and his mysticism is
not affective mysticism. Eckhart’s language is that of a metaphysician and so
his mysticism is a speculative-intellective one which «describes the descent of
the soul into its created state».[34]
The soul is able to return to God by means of intellect because this is the
image of God in human nature. Thus, «intellect is Eckhart’s term for the ground
of the soul, beyond sense and reason, by which it knows God directly».[35]
Poverty, detachment and intellect are the keys to reach the union with
divinity.
In this sense, Saint
Francis and Meister Eckhart represent two modes of the opening of the soul
towards God: two forms of union with and knowledge of the divine reality.
Despite the perils of an intramundane faith present in Franciscan religion and
the charges of heresy and the spiritual exchanges with the sect of the Free
Spirit that Eckhart’s spirituality undergoes, both represent the meditative
search for the divine incursion into reality. Applying a Voegelinian analysis
to the contemplative faith of the two friars, both of them articulate a human
response to the Highest Reality which they experienced. Thus, both of them in
different ways reveal a mystical religiousness which constitutes the decisive
step in structuring politics and history. If the mysticism of Saint Francis is less
differentiated and so participates in divine encounters in a more corporeal
way, a reflective distance is more evident in Eckhart. Saint Francis’ mysticism
expresses a more compact consciousness of the tension of existence towards transcendental
perfection in which the soul experiences in its entirety the imitation of
Christ and the fundamental importance of living according to the example of
Christ, while Eckhart’s mysticism goes a step further grasping the divine
reality through a more conceptually articulated awareness of the transcendental
pole of reality. However, both of them realized the function of mysticism in a
time of social disorder (or great social changes as those in which they lived)
that would illuminate the soul about the presence and perfection of God and
communicate man’s state of imperfection and provoke a human response in order
to resist and answer the social, religious and political disarray of the times.
[1] E. Voegelin, History of Political Ideas, vol. II, The Middle Ages to Aquinas, CW. 20, Columbia and London,
University of Missouri Press, 1997, p. 109.
[2] Ivi, p. 108.
[3] P. Sabatier, Vita di San Francesco d’Assisi, Milano, Mondatori, 1978, p. 32.
[4] E. Voegelin, History of Political Ideas, Renaissance
and Reformation,
[5] P. Sabatier, Vita di San Francesco d’Assisi cit., p. 34.
[6] E. Voegelin, History of Political Ideas, vol. II, The Middle Ages to Aquinas cit., p. 135.
[7] Ivi, p. 138-139.
[8] Ivi, p. 137.
[9] Ivi, p. 135.
[10] E. Voegelin, History of Political Ideas, vol. II, The Middle Ages to Aquinas cit., p. 138.
[11] Ivi, p. 139.
[12] Ivi, p. 142.
[13] Ivi, p. 137.
[14] Ivi, p. 142.
[15] Ibidem.
[16] Ibidem.
[17] Ibidem.
[18] D. Walsh, Editor’s Introduction in E.
Voegelin, History of Political
Ideas, vol. III, The Later Middle
Ages, Columbia and London, University of Missouri Press, 1998, pp. 14-15.
[19] G.G. Merlo, Nel nome di San Francesco. Storia dei frati Minori e del francescanesimo sino agli inizi del XVI secolo, Padova, EFR-Editrici Francescane, 2003, p. 233.
[20] R. Manselli, L’Attesa dell’età nuova ed il gioachimismo, in, Convegni del Centro di studi sulla spiritualità medievale, III, L’attesa dell’età nuova nella spiritualità della fine del Medioevo, Todi, 1962, p. 166.
[21] Ivi, p. 167.
[22] P. Ilarino da Milano, L’incentivo escatologico nel riformismo dell’Ordine francescano, in, Convegni del Centro di studi sulla spiritualità medievale, III, L’attesa dell’età nuova nella spiritualità della fine del Medioevo, Todi, 1962, pp. 309, 312.
[23] R. Manselli, La Terza età, Babylon e l’anticristo mistico, «Bullettino dell’istituto storico italiano per il medioevo e archivio muratoriano», 82, 1970, p. 49.
[24] Ivi, p. 51.
[25] Ivi, p. 60.
[26] Ibidem.
[27] Ivi, p. 61.
[28] In this perspective, Peter Olivi’s
religious position differs from that of Ubertino of Casale. Ubertino, a devout
disciple of Olivi, was a fervent preacher of evangelical truth. He identifies
the papacy with the ecclesia carnalis
and the pontiff with the Antichrist. Such a rigid position was due to the
strong disappointment caused by the resignation of Celestine V from the papacy,
who, for his previous life as hermit and for his reputation of holiness, seemed
to be capable of realizing the renewal of the Roman curia that the Spirituals
desired. The succession of Boniface VIII to the papal throne confirmed the
identification of the pope with the Antichrist. For Ubertino, Boniface VIII
wanted to build a powerful temporal church, forgetting the way of life of the
apostles. The identification of the papacy with the Antichrist implied serious
religious consequences: the condemnation of ecclesiastical hierarchy and the
denial of the pontiff’s authority.
[29] R. Manselli, La Terza età, Babylon e l’anticristo mistico cit., p. 78.
[30] B. McGinn, Storia della Mistica Cristiana in Occidente. La Fioritura della Mistica (1200-1350), Genova, Marietti, 2008, pp. 86 e 88.
[31] Ivi, p. 18.
[32] E. Voegelin, History of Political Ideas, vol. IV, Renaissance and Reformation, Columbia and London, University of
Missouri Press, p. 184.
[33] Love is egoistic because the individual decides
to join God, replacing God’s decision; humility expresses the attitude to
subordinate itself to all creatures, unlike detachment that fulfils itself.
Finally, mercy helps someone needs, so it is a surge of affection, while
detachment is impervious to any kind of sentimental unrest because it consists
of union with God.
[34] D.E. Linge, Mysticism, Poverty and Reason in the Thought of Meister Eckhart, «Journal
of the
[35] Ivi, p. 477.